On 27 December 1942 the unescorted Oakbank (Master James Stewart) was torpedoed and sunk by U-507 about 200 miles north-northeast of Fortaleza, Brazil. 24 crew members and three gunners were lost. 30 crew members and two gunners were picked up by the Brazilian steam merchant Comandante Ripper and landed at Recife on 3 January. One crew member was rescued by the Argentinian steam tanker Juvenal and landed at Curaçao on 8 January, while two crew members on a raft reached the coast near Para on 15 January. The master and an apprentice were taken prisoner and were lost when the U-boat was sunk on 13 January 1943.